With his brother Ethan he formed Academy Award-winning filmmaking team known for their stylish, quirky films that combine elements of film noir, comedy and mystery. Joel usually helms the films, though they both share writing, producing and editing duties. In most of their films, they give editing credit to the fictional Roderick Jaynes. Their films include Blood Simple (1984), Raising Arizona (1987), Fargo (1996), and The Big Lebowski (1998). Joel is married to actress Frances McDormand.